Fear of the unknown
by Katieghost
Summary: Jack, as the Pumpkin King, is supposed to be the most fearless of them all. Nothing scares him. Or... does it? (Rated M disturbing themes; among them, rape.)
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING! This story is fairly dark and perverted, and if you're reading this now you might not mind to much about that, but I'm warning you. It's _very_ dark, and it has certainly earned its M rating. Hell, I don't even think _only_ M is appropriate for this particular story. Now, you may be scoffing at this, since this fandom does have its fair share of dark stories, some that aren't even in this section, but I just want to warn to whoever isn't used to this kind of stuff to turn back. _Now_. Before it's too late.**

**Okay, now that that's over and done with, let me give you a brief introduction of this story.**

**Now, you may or may not have been part of the whole Slender Man hype that had been going not so long ago, but I will brief you, anyways. The Slender Man is a legend that came originally from the Something Awful forums and spread into the rest of the internet from there, Creepypasta being the other significant site where it has been mentioned. He is depicted as being incredibly tall with long arms and a blank face. Not much is know about him, except that he hunts and kills his victims, often by driving them insane at what its called "Slender sickness." Since its origins lay in the internet, they are varied perceptions of it, but that's just about the basics of the leyend.**

**And that's as much as you need to know for now. If you have been intrigued, feel free to do some research of your own, but be careful. _The Slender Man haunts those who know too much about him._**

**(And yes, that's a fact; I didn't make it up.)**

**On with the story, then!**

* * *

_The Slender Man._

Of course I've heard about that terrifying character. For years, he was feared all throughout the town. Even by me, the Pumpkin King.

Especially by me. Although nobody knew that, of course.

Nobody knew where he came from. Just one day, out of nowhere, talk about him began in the town. One of the creatures had disappeared. Her friend, a little vampire girl who had barely escaped a similar fate, alleged to have seen her friend being taken by a tall, black-suited man. That wasn't the worst part, though.

The worst was that she said that said being had no face, no facial features whatsoever, yet she had had heard him laugh as he took her friend and could have sworn she felt his piercing eyes on her as she ran away from the woods.

At first, the people dismissed her babblings as nonsense from a child. A search party was made to look for the girl. I led the search myself through the woods surrounding the town, yet we didn't found the child, nothing but the hat that she had been wearing when she was abducted, which we gave to her parents with a heavy heart. It was covered in blood.

The townspeople avoided the woods from then on, fearing a similar fate. I heard Oogie Boogie even banned his minions from ever approaching the woods. Despite our precautions, though, two more monsters disappeared in the span of one year.

After the third abduction, the fearful atmosphere around the people increased. That was when I thought we should take more serious measures. After a meeting with the town, I decided I would go face this creature and tell him to leave my people alone.

Now, what I am about to tell you is something I hadn't dared to talk about until now. You might believe that since I'm the Pumpkin King nothing could scare me. Well, you're about to hear about something that did. This happened long before the Christmas fiasco, even longer before than when Sally was created.

On that night, I set out to look for that daunting being on my own. You might say it was a foolish idea to go alone, but if someone else went with me I was sure they would get hurt. And I couldn't bear that happening to another one of my citizens.

At the time, I didn't know how dangerous this thing really was. All the stories involving him had been vague and hadn't really painted him as hazardous, besides the fact that he abducted and killed his victims. That was another thing that frightened the citizens. Of the few sightings that there was, no one had seen a remotely dangerous aspect in him, so they all wondered just how _could_ he kill something and in such a chaotic way to leave a bloody mess.

I braved myself as I entered the forest, thinking that I was doing this for everyone I ever cared about. When I did, I felt surrounded by an atmosphere far creepier than the one we had always managed to create on Halloween. I shivered slightly.

As I traversed through the trees, I felt someone watching me, but when I turned around, only the wind greeted me. Although I wouldn't admit even to myself at the time, I was beginning to get scared.

Suddenly, I heard the crunching of leaves behind me. I swiftly turned around and was met with the horrifying being I had only heard tales of. He was there, just standing still, staring at me. I felt the intense urge to run away from the thing, but I forced myself to stay put.

He was just as I thought he'd be. Almost as tall as me, maybe a little bit more, with a pure black suit and tie. The only thing abnormal about him was his impossibly long arms and blank face. If it were any another person, I'd felt compelled to introduce myself and chat with him. As it were, I just watched him for a long while, not without wondering of this was where I met my end.

'_I have been awaiting you._' I heard, although I can't tell from where. I looked at him questioningly, and he nodded his pale face, which confirmed my suspicions that he wanted to talk. That relieved me just a little.

"Who are you?" The question was out of my mouth before I knew it, and I berated myself internally.

Even though, he remained silent.

"Very well, then. What do you want with me..and my people?" I asked rather directly.

The creature seemed to be amused, although I couldn't know how I knew this. Perhaps I could understand him?

'_Quite bold, I see. And with a sense of protectiveness to those monsters you call people. Now I know why they chose you as their king._'

I became infuriated by this. How dare he talk like that!

"What do you want?" I repeated, now more forcefully. I stepped closer to him, and he seemed to smile at the movement.

He chuckled. '_You shall be quite entertaining, I think. And to address your concern, what I want is something only you can give to me._'

I actually gulped at that, although I tried not to let my nervousness show. By his tone of voice, what he wanted was not going to be something pleasant for me. Forcing a scowl into my face, I spoke again.

"If you let my citizens alone, I will do anything you ask. But you have to give me your word."

Now the monster came closer, and I thought I saw him smile. I unconsciously took a step back.

'_Very well. I give you my word. No harm shall befall your.. people.. as long as you fulfill your end of the bargain.'_

He held out a long arm to shake, and the deal was sealed. I couldn't help the shudder that rippled through me as I touched him.

"Now... Will you tell me what is it you so desperately want from me that you had to murder three innocent creatures?" I asked pointedly, crossing my arms.

He was silent. The wind howled, and the few leaves in the trees swished around. Surprised, I found myself being creeped out just by being around this creature so long. How could he have such an effect on me? I was supposed to be the Master of Fright!

All of a sudden, my eye sockets widened as I saw things that appeared black tentacles appear from the back of him. They stretched until they were longer than his arms and writhed around him. I was rooted to the spot, unable to move or even blink.

_Who_ was this monster...?

'_You._' The whisper echoed through the trees, and I backed away further.

"Wh- what...?" I barely mumbled, before one of his tentacles shot out to grab my leg and another one my torso. I tried to free myself from them, but they were seizing me too tightly. They both coiled around me and lifted me, bringing me closer to what I would know from then on as the haunter of my nightmares.

'_Now, now. You told me you would play fair._'

I gasped as I met face to face with the monster, feeling the rest of his tentacles coil around me to make sure I stayed in place. Reluctantly, I stopped all resistance when I saw that I was completely trapped by this individual, his grip on me too strong to even attempt to move my limbs.

'_That's better._' he said mockingly, and he brought his hands to grip both of my legs, spreading them apart. I gulped audibly, now unable to hide my nervousness.

The dark appendages clutched me tighter and tighter until I felt my bones would snap. I cried out in pain. He seemed to take pleasure in this, as I heard him chuckle. The things that wove around me took my arms and brought them to my back, interlacing around them like ropes and effectively rendering me helpless.

Every instinct I had inside me told me struggle, to run away, but I fought it by reminding myself I had promised something to this creature and I could not leave until he had it. Whatever it is he wanted from me, I would give if he let my citizens alone. I had no reason to trust him, but that was the only thing that I could do right now.

I felt utterly disgusted by the way the tentacles roved over every inch of my skeletal body, some even going so far as to go beneath my clothes. He seemed to be enjoying it, though. I felt my face heating up when one of his 'hands' touched my skull and began gently caressing it. After all, it was the most sensitive bone in my body for a reason.

Just when I thought I could not feel more violated, one of the things that was around my torso dove in between my legs, underneath my pants.

My eye sockets widened, and I froze completely.

Now, you would probably think that I was nothing but bone, since I am a skeleton. But you would be wrong, unfortunately. I do have some kind of ligaments to hold my bones together, but the greatest evidence that I'm more than just a regular skeleton lies between my legs. It could not be called an organ, much less a sexual one, but it seemed to serve that function, strangely. Since I had been human before, it was similar to that of a human male's, but not quite. Most of the time I just ignored this part of my body, knowing it wouldn't be noticeable by anyone else without direct tactile stimulation.

The creature appeared to know this, and I could almost see him smirk as he began stroking it. I felt as it began to become aroused with the touches. I wrenched my head away with a choked breath, too embarrassed and revolted to face him. He, however, seemed intent in gaining a response from me and began to rub it more insistently, more roughly. I fought to keep in a moan.

Was _this_ was he wanted?

That was the last conscious thought that entered my mind before I surrendered myself wholly to what I was feeling, forgetting completely what was causing it. It was incredibly pleasurable; nothing like I had ever felt before. Moans and groans began to leave my mouth involuntarily, and I breathed heavily as his touches seemed to multiply and grow in intensity.

I suddenly felt his hands at the waistband of my pants, lowering them just enough so he could see the entirety of my..manhood, I guess you could call it. He took it in one hand and began stroking even more zealously, making me shout out in surprise and satisfaction.

He stopped for a moment, and I looked at him stunned, panting, with that wide-eyed look still on my face. An unintentional whine left my lips as I began to yearn again for the contact, but he didn't budge.

'_Beg me, Pumpkin King._' he hissed dangerously, and I gasped as I felt all of his tentacles moving again, caressing me all over. One especially started to knead my skull quite strongly, making me moan uncontrollably.

"N-No..!" I barely managed to whisper defiantly, deeply incapacitated as I was.

He appeared displeased with this and stopped all his actions.

"W-Wait..." I muttered shakily, all reason or logic evading me at the time. I groaned needily. "D-Don't.. D-Don't st-top..!"

He seemed smug about this development, but I was too far gone to notice something besides my fading pleasure. A feather-light touch from his hands was all it took for me ground out urgently,

"Gah... _Please_!"

Instantly, he began stroking me again, and I sighed in relief. I just couldn't help it, it felt **too** good.

This went on for quite a while, until I felt the pressure in my lower area that meant I was close to my release. Some seconds later, I felt myself tipping over the edge.

'_Scream for me, Jack._' he said one more time, his voice low. Unable to resist it anymore, I did just that.

The scream that he ripped out of me at that moment was so loud that it seemed to shake all the forest. I think some bats and birds that were near the vicinity even flew away, their wings flapping the only sound beside the howling wind.

I was shaking wildly when I could come into myself again, my chest heaving from my labored breathing.

Yet his caresses didn't stop; only intensified. He gripped me more strongly and couldn't help the loud whine of discomfort that left me. I was still feeling quite sensitive down there, and he hadn't even given me some minutes to rest. It hurt more than it felt good now.

"W-W-Wait.." I tried to protest, my voice pathetically weak. "N-No, I-I-I c-can't... S-Stop!"

'_I did not heard you complaining before._' With this, I thought I saw him give me a look that said he wasn't going to stop any time soon. I didn't give up though, now squirming in his grasp and trying to protest against the touching.

'_Be quiet!_' he yelled impatiently, and the tentacle that was caressing my skull came around it, covering my mouth. I whimpered against it, struggling even more insistently.

He seemed annoyed now, bordering on angry, and seized me more fiercely. I cried out in pain, though it was muffled by him. It hurt incredibly, what he was doing now. My pained yells continued, but he paid them no mind.

I closed my eye sockets tightly, trying in vain to remove myself from the unbearable pain I was feeling. Slowly, a wet droplet flowed down my face, releasing the rest of them that poured down. It took me a moment to realize what was happening.

I was crying.

I had never cried before, in all of my existence… Until now, I didn't even know that I could, but the only emotion that my new-found ability brought me was despair. I felt humiliated.

_He did this to me._

I was brought back to earth when I felt the overwhelming waves of pleasure and pain that came with my second release. After that, things became blurry. He roughly pushed me into climax a few more times, I'm not really sure how many, as I quivered non-stop in his arms. Whimpers of pain kept leaving my mouth, although they were too soft and muffled to distinguish.

Then, as if I was of no value anymore, his tentacles disentangled themselves from me and he let me go, dropping my heavily abused body to the ground. I fell with a cry as my back hit the ground, a gasp escaping me as well.

'_You amused me greatly, Jack. I think this will be a frequent occurrence for us._'

I looked at him again, this time not bothering to hide the unbridled fear that shone on my eye-sockets. I watched him as his tentacles slowly disappeared, retreating into his back. He kept looking at me, his stare seeming to pierce into my very soul.

'_I am the Slender Man. You must fear me._'

Then he just vanished, leaving me feeling confused and with a panic that rose with every second.

I don't know how much time I laid there, my mind empty. Some part of me didn't believe what had just happened, another was wondering _what_ had happened, while another, more logical part reminded me that it _had_ just happened and it most likely would happen again.

I just lay there for a good while, trying to control myself, twitching every now and then. I was trembling so hard that I had a hard time controlling it. I had never been submitted to such a level, and my body wasn't used to it.

When I did stand up, my legs were still shaking a bit. I almost fell again, before I managed to stabilize myself with a nearby tree.

In a state of numb shock, I had fixed my clothes methodically, not even thinking about it, and wiped my face of any residue of tears. Then, with a great amount of effort, I headed out of the woods, his last words echoing in my mind like a dark omen.

When I had arrived to the graveyard, I saw the whole Halloweentown waiting for me, their faces overcome with worry which morphed into relief as soon as they saw me unharmed. At least, in their eyes, I **looked** unharmed.

As soon as I got close enough to them and far enough from the forest, I smiled faintly, sighing in relief. Too late, I had realized that tension was the only thing that was keeping me standing. My legs gave out on me, and I fell to the ground. I barely heard the fading cries of worry from everyone as they saw me, passing out from sheer exhaustion and feeling the overwhelming bliss that it was all over.

I woke up in Dr. Finkelstein's lab in a rickety old bed, a big round window letting the moon light in. He came and told me I had been asleep for a week. He also mentioned, with some worry trying to creep up into his face, that sometimes I had woken up screaming and thrashing (once actually _crying_), refusing to calm down until he came into the room and assured me everything was all right. I didn't remember any of that, but I did remember the nightmares. The ones that still haunt me to this day.

"What did happen with that creature, Jack? You haven't been yourself since then," the doctor asked, his beady eyes analyzing me thoroughly.

I didn't meet his stare.

"Nothing. He won't harm anyone now," I said, my voice sounding uncharacteristically empty.

"What about you, though?" he insisted, his tone becoming hard.

"It doesn't matter what he did to me," I hissed angrily, clenching my fists. "You're all safe now."

Startled, the doctor had dropped the matter.

When I deemed myself in well-enough state of mind, I walked out of Dr. Finkelstein's lab. The few monsters that were outside immediately came to my side, all of them uttering their gratefulness that I was alright. Then, before one of them could bring it up, I addressed the matter of concern.

"The Slender Man will not harm anyone. Not anymore."

Some cheers and relieved whispers broke out in the small crowd, and I smiled for what felt a really long time.

"Why did you call him Slender Man?" a mummy child that was close to me asked.

I gave a troubled sigh. "That's his name. He told me so."

Now gasps and murmurs rose through the people, obvious puzzlement weaving between them.

"So.. Did you kill him, Jack?" the Wolfman asked, a note of hopefulness in his voice.

I flinched at that. "Not exactly. I just..scared him off." The lie had slipped out of me unintentionally as I tried to hide even from myself what had happened. Again, the people cheered a bit, some even shouting their appreciation for me. Those made me feel just a little better.

After that, it all went back to normal. For some time.

One lonely night, he visited me in my dreams. I knew right away that it wasn't a nightmare because they were all revisited recounts of what had already happened in the woods. But he was just standing there, in front of me. In the graveyard.

'_It's been some time, Jack._' he greeted in his hollow voice.

I shuddered in fear.

After that, I woke up and, as if in a trance, headed out and into the graveyard.

He was there. Again. His tentacles were already in display. Not bothering with formalities, he immediately grabbed me by my middle and took me into the forest. I just resigned in his grasp, dreading what was to come and knowing I couldn't stop it.

So this has been our little routine for some time now. Every five or so years, he would summon me through dreams, and I would meet him wherever he would want to. I can safely say no one suspects anything, since most escapades are made at a time of day where everyone is either asleep or too busy to notice their Pumpkin King vanishing for hours.

Each time, I feel a small part of me slipping away to him. I walk through the town an empty shell of my former self, pretending for everyone's sake that everything is okay. Some day, he will break me completely.

But I can't refuse him; the whole town depends on me, and now my beloved Sally is too. I can't tell her, or anyone, what's been happening. They wouldn't understand the implications of what would happen if I stopped doing what he asked of me. He had told me one time, and it had just strengthened my resolve to keep the Halloween people safe from harm.

Still, every time that he disappears, leaving me beaten on the ground, I keep hoping that maybe, _maybe_, that had been the last time, and he had gotten tired from me. That wish was the one that encouraged me to keep going every day, and to keep pretending for the sake of my people that everything is just fine and I had never been scared of anything.

* * *

**I told you, didn't I? Oh, but I know I may have underestimated some of you, and if I did, please tell me. It's the first time I write a story equal parts dark and perverted and I want to know what people think of it. Hell, you can flame me all you want! I just want to know what you think...**

**And also, I have something else that's worth mentioning. This is not a simple one-shot. There are 3 other installments related to it, but I'm unsure at the moment whether to post them or not and if I should do so in a single story. I guess I'll see how you people like it and then I'll decide.**

**Au revoir, my friends!**


	2. Epilogue

**Not many people have requested that I continue, but I wasn't about to let a story as this one without a happy ending (or as happy as it can be). So, here is the second part, which I'm dubbing an epilogue because it really isn't a second chapter, and it does conclude the story the way an epilogue usually does.**

**And it isn't as graphic as its first part, considering... Well, you'll see why. This one's actually more of a 'T' rating, because of the innuendo.**

**Read on!**

* * *

Lock, Shock, and Barrel were walking in the woods tonight. Normally, they would have already been asleep, but they had been doing a once-in-a-blue-moon inventory of their stuff and realized they had lost something. Since it had been a few weeks since the Christmas fiasco, they suspected they had probably dropped it when they had returned from kidnapping Sandy Claws.

So, now, they were forced to return to the forest to look for it.

"Barrel, you dolt, this is all your fault!" exclaimed Shock in frustration and tiredness. Her feet were sore; they had been searching for _hours_.

"Hey! It so wasn't! Why do you always blame **me**?" the skeleton-costumed child retorted angrily, stomping his foot.

"It was! It's always you! So you should get used to it," Lock piped in, sticking his tongue out to the boy.

Barrel pointedly ignored him; he was too tired to reply and undoubtedly start one of their usual fights.

They remained in silence for a moment, walking along the path. It was uncharacteristically quiet in the forest, and they were getting a very weird feeling about it.

Suddenly, Barrel heard a faraway noise, sounding like someone, and he strained his ears to hear it again. Yes, it was definitely someone, but who would be on the Hinterlands so late at night?

"Hey, guys... Do you hear that?" he asked his cohorts.

Lock and Shock stopped in their tracks, having heard it too.

"Yeah..." Shock replied in a whisper, sensing it could be risky to speak out loud.

The noises were getting a bit louder. They could now distinguish them as sounds of pain. Someone was in pain, and it seemed that someone _else_ was causing it.

"It seems like it's over there..." Lock murmured, and pointed to a cluster of trees ahead. They couldn't see anything from this distance, but maybe if they got closer they could. He led his friends towards the noise, walking with caution in case it was something dangerous.

When they got close enough, they stopped in their tracks at the sight that met their eyes. They gasped in unison, hiding behind a nearby tree. Nevertheless, they kept watching, unable to wrench their eyes from the scene.

What they had seen scared them more than Oogie Boogie ever could. They couldn't believe it. It was Jack, whom they believed could be defeated by nothing and no one, restrained and rendered helpless by what seemed a very tall man in a black suit with long arms and weird tentacle things that came from behind his back.

They knew who this was. More than a century before, their master had ordered them to stay away from him since he was very dangerous. They had heard the tales about him, but they had thought he had disappeared when Jack said he had scared him off.

It was the Slender Man.

But their eyes weren't fooling them. The creature _was_ hurting Jack, and quite badly at that. When Jack shouted out in pain another time, they gasped again and Shock let out something that almost seemed like a sob. Even though, they continued watching the two individuals before them, their innocent minds subconsciously looking for some kind of explanation for the bizarre scene before them.

It was when the moonlight shone on Jack's face and they saw remnants of tears glistening there that they hid behind the tree again, equal faces of unbridled worry and fear looking at each other.

They had never seen Jack _cry_. They didn't even thought that he could.

"H-He's..h-hurting Jack! H-He w-was even..c-crying!" Lock said, his voice lowered (besides shaking) so _he_ wouldn't hear him.

"Wh-what can we d-do, though?" asked Barrel, his tone sad.

Their heads dropped in shame. He was right, as much as they didn't like it. If Jack was letting this happen, it was because he couldn't do anything about it. He was the Pumpkin King for a reason.

"B-But we have to do s-something about it!" said Shock suddenly, her voice scratchy and rough as she was in the verge of tears.

They looked at each other again, equal looks of determination on their faces. They couldn't just let their King in the hands of a monster that was hurting him!

It was obvious by this fact that they had changed a lot since before the Christmas fiasco, when they would let Jack be killed by their master. But that was because they feared the boogieman would kill _them_. Since his demise, they had been around town a lot more and their attitude had changed towards their Pumpkin King.

Bravely, they stepped out from behind the tree and started walking in the direction of the two creatures. Fortunately, from their point of view, they only saw the back of the Slender Man and Jack's face and arms, not noticing or suspecting what was _really_ happening. (Not that it was that far along, though; Jack had only been called a few minutes before they entered the forest.)

"Hey!" Lock shouted boldly. "Leave Jack alone!"

All movement in the forest stopped. The Slender Man released Jack, and the pained yell the skeleton gave when he fell made the kids wince.

Slowly, the creature turned around, causing them to back away in fear. He was more terrifying than they had thought of. But they wouldn't back out now.

Jack _needed_ them.

So they started shouting again, more in nervousness than anything, hoping to distract the monster from Jack. The Slender Man seemed to be angry at this interruption and began approaching them menacingly.

Meanwhile, Jack was still in the ground, trying in vain to recover from the attack he was receiving just now. Over the years, every time the Slender Man would call him it became more painful, until the pleasure he had felt the first time was no more. His bones ached from the rough treatment and he was trembling uncontrollably.

Yet when he heard Lock, Shock, and Barrel's voices beginning to sound scared out of their wits, something inside him snapped like a twig. He felt a fire begin to burn inside him, and with new-found strength, he stood up.

He had to protect them.

"We had a deal," he said, his voice perilously low as he called out to the Slender Man. "You would harm no one."

The Slender Man immediately turned around, and Jack see plain as day that he was unbelievably _livid_.

'_The deal is off_.' he said heatedly, his empty voice echoing around them. '_**They**__ just broke it. And as such, they have to pay for it._'

"You leave them out of this!" Jack shouted in anger. "They're just kids!"

The Slender Man turned to Lock, Shock, and Barrel again. The children huddled together and held on to each other, now crying in fear.

'_Children... I've always _hated_ children._'

The fire Jack had felt grew inside him and suddenly manifested itself, coming around him and transforming him.

"No!" a demonic voice yelled, coming from the former Jack Skellington. He ran to where the Slender Man was, throwing a ball of fire at the creature's back before he could reach the children.

The move worked, and the monster turned, his tentacles now thrashing wildly, which meant he was enraged beyond belief.

"It's me you want," the figure said, his voice as dangerous as the creature before him, but also eerily calm.

Standing there was now a tall scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head, decked in flames that seemed to burn with the fury of Hell itself.

The kids looked in awe. This was Jack's Pumpkin King form. They had never seen him get so furious as to actually transform. Not even Oogie Boogie had accomplished that.

What followed was an epic battle between the most terrifying beings that existed in their world. Lock, Shock, and Barrel didn't see much of it, having gone to look for a safer place, but the little they did see amazed them. Jack was obviously fighting with all his might, and, unbeknownst to them, letting out all the anger that had accumulated from one whole century of being under the Slender Man's control.

Though, they did see when Jack threw one last, large ball of fire to the Slender Man, hitting him in the chest. The creature fell with a piercing growl and began burning, until he was no more than ashes.

The Slender Man was gone.

When this realization hit Jack, he let out a huge sigh of relief as he reverted into his normal self. He then went to look for the trio, to tell them it wasn't dangerous anymore.

He called their names and they came from up of one tree, jumping down. When they saw Jack, undead and well, and no signs from the awful nightmare that was there seconds ago, they all ran towards him, relieved smiles on their faces.

"Jack! Jack!" they shouted in happiness.

"Jack, you're okay!" Shock said, her voice still a bit scratchy from crying.

"You did it, Jack!" Lock shouted in admiration.

"Way to go, Jack!" Barrel chimed in.

The skeleton just smiled, glad they were all safe and well. Surprising him completely, the trio tackled him in a hug when they reached him, their grateful exclamations still not stopping. He chuckled at the gesture.

"Yes, he's gone now. Finally," he said seriously, although it sounded as if he was talking more to himself than them.

"Why was he hurting you, Jack?" asked Shock, childish curiosity laced in her tone.

"Yeah... We didn't like it.." Barrel whispered, a distressed look coming into his face.

Lock looked at him with the same sad eyes, not saying anything but silently asking the same.

He let out a troubled sigh. "Some day, I think I'll explain it to you."

Standing up, he got a funny idea to distract them. He watched as Barrel almost fell down attempting to stand up, so he grabbed him by the waist and placed him on his shoulders, making the boy laugh happily.

"But why don't we get out of here first?" he offered with a smile.

They all laughed and shouted affirmatives, and they started their journey home, where they knew they would be safe.

They had nothing to fear now.

* * *

**So, how was it? Again, I would love some feedback, be it constructive criticism, flames, or just a simple "I liked it."/"I didn't like it."**

******And to reply to your review, my dear Guest: Thank you for your kind words. I'm glad you liked this story and how I wrote it; I must say no one had ever complimented my style of writing and hearing you do it made me confident as a writer all over again. And _of course_ I wasn't about to let Jack stay in a situation like that forever. That would be far too cruel for me. Were you satisfied with this ending? :)**

**As I mentioned before, there are other 2 parts to these stories. Why is this the epilogue then? Well, since I'm such a tease, I'll only leave you with this: Sally and the Slender Man.**

**(I'm evil. I know. *evil laugh*)**


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